A CAGE

A CAGE AI see you’re in a cage my dears CYou can’t seem to get out AYou rattle all the bars and shout GYou’ve been in there for years EIt seems you like it there FWith all your needsC attended to FI know you justC pretended to AmDespair AIt’s comfortable and cosy CYou share it with your friends AAnd follow the same trends GThe future just looks rosy EThe cupboard’s never bare FTo step outside meansC lots of pain FYou think you’d have toC be insane AmTo dare AAnd so you stay within your cage CComplain about your plight AYou know it isn’t right GYou demonstrate your rage EAnd claim it isn’t fair FBut you like beingC together FWith your friends out ofC the weather AmWithout a care AYou do it for your lover C Who will do it just for you A And complains about it too G Knowing one’s just like the other E It’s not rare F So you rattle on the C grating F But really only C faking Am getting out of there

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Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”